In This Issue:

- A Note from John:  It's All Rocket Science To Me!

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A Note From John

Hello!

And welcome to the slightly different weekly summer version of the Property Investor PA newsletter.

<<<< It’s All Rocket Science To Me >>>>

Last week I shared with you how took I took a dose of my own medicine to transform one of my businesses.  If you missed it you can read that article here Mind Your Own Business but this week let's look at a completely different challenge I have been facing up to.

I am learning to play the piano at the moment. If you play already you won’t need me to tell you how hard it is to learn. Really hard. In fact probably one of the hardest things I have ever attempted in my life. (Other than water-skiing but I think that was just me that could not stand up for love nor money!) Trying to get your hands to do different things at the same time was a gigantic mystery on its own, without having to remember notes, beats, tempo, finger positioning, loudness, staves, sharps etc as well! In short it really seemed like the impossible.

However, it’s something I have always wanted to do and Mrs R kindly arranged some lessons for my 40^th birthday last November.

It’s important to mention that at this point I cannot read any form of music and the sum of my musical talents to date are an awful attempt at playing the recorder at school and a dodgy and drunken Karaoke duet with a complete stranger on hols in Cyprus last year! (Elton John and Kiki Dee had nothing on us!). Despite this, every Monday afternoon I head off to my lessons with Gordon my teacher, who is in his late seventies, and has been playing since he was 9 years old.

I will never forget that first lesson when I looked at the huge keyboard as he told me about the ‘scales’, whatever they are. He then took out some manuscript paper and plotted notes on it. I recall thinking that it was all complete double-dutch to me and he might as well have been trying to teach me about nuclear physics and rocket science for all the sense it made.

My piano teacher with his 50+ years experience knew this only too well. So he just focused on one aspect each week in our lesson and then it was down to me to practice that one thing before the next lesson. For the first 3 weeks all I did was practice playing unrelated notes in different patterns. Each week was slowly building up my knowledge and confidence in what the notes were called and where they were on the keyboard. It was definite progress but nowhere near my ultimate goal of actually being able to play a simple tune and it sounding any way recognisable!

I was reminded of my piano challenges this week, when I was coaching someone on improving their calls to vendors. It dawned on me how easy it was for me to forget just how difficult and challenging vendor calls are until you reach a certain level of competency. Even then, much as in the example of passing your driving test, you are only still at the beginning of the learning curve and there is still so much more to learn in order to master the vendor call: keeping control of the call, building rapport, probing, asking awkward questions, overcoming objections, justifying the BMV discount, and following up effectively etc. Mastering all these facets of the call is what improves an investor’s conversion rate and helps them achieve their property goals. It makes the difference in losing or clinching a deal – and lets face it just one more good deal gained can make a huge difference to the bottom line of your property business in getting a return on your investment to date. Crucially, it can also occasionally make the difference in probing well enough to know NOT to proceed with a particular deal!

Like my piano teacher, I pointed out to the investor I was coaching that the secret is to break the seemingly overwhelming task into bite size chunks and address one chunk at a time - then the next chunk – and the next etc. Eventually the pieces start to come together. Only then can you get on and really learn the skills that make the difference. Unfortunately this is the point that many investors stop. They kid themselves that being able to pick up the phone and talk to the vendor is the same as mastering the skills and techniques that make up an EFFECTIVE call to the vendor.

One of the biggest breakthroughs I had with my ability to play piano was when my teacher first played the tune to me himself, talking me through it as he did so. I simply sat there and watched and listened as he played it through three times. I found I then had a model in my head of the technique he used and what the tune should sound like. Do you know what? Something suddenly clicked and in just the following 2 weeks I learnt and mastered my first tune “Edelweiss” by Hammerstein and Rogers.

This principle of mastering by listening to others was the very same reason I had added the 1-hour plus audio file when I launched my Guide to Calling Vendors a year ago. It allows you to listen in to real calls to real vendors and learn what to do and not to do when talking to a vendor.

If you are one of the hundreds of investors who have previously invested in my unique guide on making effective calls to vendors, then why not dig out your copy of the comprehensive written guide or the invaluable mp3 audio file and see what additional skill or technique you can add to further improve your mastery of making effective calls to vendors.

If you have not got my guide and would like to invest in your vendor calling skills then you can take advantage of a very special offer I am running for you, my newsletter readers. I’m currently reviewing the guide ahead of launching an updated version with extra tips and techniques later this year/early next year. So for a limited period you can buy the guide for a substantial discount off by visiting www.jrcallguide.com AND don’t worry - as and when the new version is available I will send you a copy at no extra charge. Can’t say fairer than that.

Meanwhile, I am pleased to say that I am now able to confidently play around 10 tunes on the piano – using BOTH hands – a major breakthrough and a real enjoyable pleasure that helps me switch off. But I don’t kid myself that I am anywhere near mastery. That will only come by continuing to learn from those who already have the skills I seek.

Cheers

John

About The Property Investor PA

www.ThePropertyInvestorPA.com is a dedicated UK support service for Below Market Value Property Investors. Established in 2006, we specialize in helping you with the time consuming parts of your property business – leaving YOU to get on with doing the deals and running the business. Visit our website to read case studies and testimonials plus download our free brochure.